Scotia's Laura Diaz returns to golf, heads to British Open

Balancing family, comeback from injury, mark a new era

Joyce Bassett, Golf

Updated 10:42 pm, Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Photo: Michael Cohen

SYLVANIA, OH - JULY 21: Laura Diaz (R) lines up a putt on the ninth green during the second round of the Marathon Classic Presented By Owens Corning And O-I held at Highland Meadows Golf Club on July 21, 2017 in Sylvania, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 692448611

SYLVANIA, OH - JULY 21: Laura Diaz (R) lines up a putt on the...

On the eve of the Women's British Open, it's live and let die time for Scotia native Laura Diaz.

Struggling to balance family, training and the LPGA, Diaz, 42, is living in the moment and letting past demons die. She returned to the tour in July after more than a year layoff, and everything clicked in her last tournament, with the help of her family and especially her caddie.

Her caddie's name is Bond, Susan Bond.

Bond, a PGA teaching professional and girlfriend of Diaz's brother, Ron Philo Jr., carried her bag and helped her secure a tie for 20th on July 23 at Highland Meadows in Ohio. Diaz didn't realize it at the time, but Ohio also included a qualifier for the Women's British Open.

So after carding a 67-67-71-70 for the weekend, she took a shot at the Open. She scrambled care for her children, flights and hotel arrangements, arriving in Scotland on Monday. She walked the course Tuesday and will play a practice round Wednesday.

Photo: Michael Cohen

SYLVANIA, OH - JULY 21: Laura Diaz hits her second shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the Marathon Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club on July 21, 2017 in Sylvania, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)

SYLVANIA, OH - JULY 21: Laura Diaz hits her second shot on the...

"I know the golf course," she said. "I qualified for the British Open once on this golf course, so it's not that I'm totally seeing it blind."

The Open is being played at Kingsbarns Golf Links, Scotland, just 10 minutes away from The Old Course at St. Andrews.

Diaz was away from the tour for more than a year following a debilitating injury in February 2016. She tripped while training for a marathon and broke her leg in three places. At the time, she was struggling with the decision of returning to the tour after a tough 2015 season, which she called "a disaster."

"I felt this was God's way of giving me some guidance," she said. "It was a great year at home. I got to do a lot of stuff with the kids and just enjoy a life away from golf. It was a good year and it allowed me to come back and do golf at a different pace than I have been doing it for the past 20 years."

Her father, Ron Philo Sr., and her husband, Kevin, both told her she didn't need to prepare to play like she did when she was younger.

"I've always been just a work-too-hard kind of person," she said.

Diaz already has done her preparation, and her stats reflect that. She has made $5.3 million on the tour since graduating from Wake Forest in 1997. As a two-time LPGA Tour winner and Solheim Cup star (she was a member of the winning cup team in 2002, when she went 3-1), Diaz already is prepared to play on golf's biggest stages.

LPGA golfer Laura Diaz, right, and her new caddy Susan Bond teamed up for a tied for 20th finish at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Ohio on July 23, 2017. Diaz qualified to play in the British Open.

LPGA golfer Laura Diaz, right, and her new caddy Susan Bond teamed...

"Now I'm doing it at my pace, which may not be the pace of the top players in the world, but it's a pace that works for me and where I am with my family and with my kids," she said.

Her son, Cooper, is 11 and just learning to love to play golf. Lilly, 7, goes along for the golf cart rides and hits the ball now at then, playing at her own pace. They also love swimming and other sports. Diaz said she is happy training with them by her side.

"It's fun to be able to practice and have them with me and let them both do it as often as they want," she said. "That's how I got into it as a kid. I followed my father to all his events and just loved when he and I had time to play nine holes."

She and her dad played a round in June at the Edison Club, something she treasures when she comes back to the Capital Region.

"Edison holds a special place in my father's heart and my heart," Diaz said. "It was cool to be back in the area and playing again."

Diaz's parents live about an hour away from her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. Philo Sr. joins his son teaching in the summer in Stowe, Vt., where Ron Jr. is the director of golf.

Susan Bond also works in golf instruction at Stowe and came to the rescue when Diaz was looking for a caddie for the Ohio event.

"To have Susan was great, to talk to what was going on, and she taught me to use my breathing to calm things," Diaz said. "I had established a game plan with my husband before I left and I put that into work.

"She's a great person and has been such a fun addition to our family. I was so happy to have her. It was a really solid week."

Diaz said she hopes for another solid week starting Thursday at the British Open. After that, it will be back to splitting time between family and golf.